We ran two microsopy sessions with students at the Architectural Association - learning about soil, and connecting with the forest through leafmould.
Leafmould is teaming with life: bacteria, fungi, ciliates, nematodes, amoebas and other mysterious creatures are busily breaking things down (one of Hari's favourite microscopy videos was from a leafmould pile). If you stick your hand in a pile of leafmould, you can feel the heat generated by all of this biological activity. It's also one of the easiest kinds of compost you can make. Leaves are a commons, a valuable resource, and they belong to all of us, but they are often bagged up and taken away by private companies contracted by councils. What are alternatives?
Students were given a brief to think together and co-design a system / infrastructure / method for responding to leafmould in urban areas differently. What would you do with this brief? Let us know!
Photo by Far Closer under Creative Commons license